Station #3: Working Class Hero CONTEXT John Lennon was an English musician, singer, and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the rock band The Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. When the group disbanded in 1970, Lennon embarked on a solo career that produced the critically acclaimed albums and iconic songs such as Working Class Hero.
Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music. Controversial through his political and peace activism, he moved to Manhattan in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon’s administration to deport him. Some of his songs were adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement and the larger counterculture.
Lennon often referred to Working Class Hero as “a bitter attack against bourgeois social systems.” Note Lennon’s use of sarcasm throughout the song.
Cue the song. To accommodate different computers, the song may be listened to in any one of the following three, separate file formats: AAC/iTunes, .MP3, or .WAV. If one doesn't play, try another! As you listen, annotate the lyrics, making note of specific statements that strike you as having Marxist undertones.
AAC/iTunes File
.MP3 File
.WAV File
LYRICS: As soon as you’re born, they make you feel small By giving you no time instead of it all ‘Til the pain is so big you feel nothing at all. A working class hero is something to be . . . A working class hero is something to be . . .
They hurt you at home, and they hit you at school. They hate you if you’re clever and they despise a fool, ‘Til you’re so f— crazy, you can’t follow their rules. A working class hero is something to be . . . A working class hero is something to be . . .
They’ve tortured and scared you for 20 odd years, Then they expect you to pick a career When you can’t really function, and you’re so full of fear. A working class hero is something to be . . . A working class hero is something to be . . .
Keep you doped with religion, and sex, and T.V. And you think you’re so clever, and classless, and free. But you’re still f— peasants, as far as I can see. A working class hero is something to be . . . A working class hero is something to be . . .
“There’s room at the top” they keep telling you still. But first, you must learn how to smile as you kill— If you want to be like the folks on the hill. A working class hero is something to be . . . A working class hero is something to be . . .
If you want to be a hero, well just follow me . . . If you want to be a hero, well just follow me . . .
* * * * *
Now take note of the still pictures below. Consider the collective meaning of these images.
Finally, engage in a small-group discussion. Each member of the group must contribute to the process by fulfilling an assigned role. Then, in a thoughtful, “MEL-style” short essay response, answer this question:
What specific information should a Marxist critic consider in an analysis of this text? Using that information as evidence, what meaning can we make of this text, using Marxist tenets as our “lenses”?
CONTEXT
John Lennon was an English musician, singer, and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the rock band The Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. When the group disbanded in 1970, Lennon embarked on a solo career that produced the critically acclaimed albums and iconic songs such as Working Class Hero.
Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music. Controversial through his political and peace activism, he moved to Manhattan in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon’s administration to deport him. Some of his songs were adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement and the larger counterculture.
Lennon often referred to Working Class Hero as “a bitter attack against bourgeois social systems.” Note Lennon’s use of sarcasm throughout the song.
Cue the song. To accommodate different computers, the song may be listened to in any one of the following three, separate file formats: AAC/iTunes, .MP3, or .WAV. If one doesn't play, try another! As you listen, annotate the lyrics, making note of specific statements that strike you as having Marxist undertones.
AAC/iTunes File
.MP3 File
.WAV File
LYRICS:
As soon as you’re born, they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
‘Til the pain is so big you feel nothing at all.
A working class hero is something to be . . .
A working class hero is something to be . . .
They hurt you at home, and they hit you at school.
They hate you if you’re clever and they despise a fool,
‘Til you’re so f— crazy, you can’t follow their rules.
A working class hero is something to be . . .
A working class hero is something to be . . .
They’ve tortured and scared you for 20 odd years,
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can’t really function, and you’re so full of fear.
A working class hero is something to be . . .
A working class hero is something to be . . .
Keep you doped with religion, and sex, and T.V.
And you think you’re so clever, and classless, and free.
But you’re still f— peasants, as far as I can see.
A working class hero is something to be . . .
A working class hero is something to be . . .
“There’s room at the top” they keep telling you still.
But first, you must learn how to smile as you kill—
If you want to be like the folks on the hill.
A working class hero is something to be . . .
A working class hero is something to be . . .
If you want to be a hero, well just follow me . . .
If you want to be a hero, well just follow me . . .
* * * * *
Now take note of the still pictures below. Consider the collective meaning of these images.
Finally, engage in a small-group discussion. Each member of the group must contribute to the process by fulfilling an assigned role. Then, in a thoughtful, “MEL-style” short essay response, answer this question:
What specific information should a Marxist critic consider in an analysis of this text? Using that information as evidence, what meaning can we make of this text, using Marxist tenets as our “lenses”?